Cta Blamed For Violation Of Fire Code In Building

April 01, 1985|By Dave Schneidman.

A state official charged Sunday that the Chicago Transit Authority is to blame for one of the alleged fire code violations at the new State of Illinois Center, as dozens of workers labored to resolve problems.

But CTA spokesman Bill Baxa countered that the CTA has nothing to do with the construction of a public transit facility within the building and said it is the responsibility of ``either the city or the state.``

The city filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to close the $172.6 million building at LaSalle and Randolph Streets until violations are corrected. But Gary Skoien, executive director of the Illinois Capital Development Board, which directs the project, said the building would be open Monday.

Workers were building temporary fire walls and turning on fire sprinkler valves Sunday in preparation for a second hearing on the suit, scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday, Skoien said. Cook County Circuit Judge James Murray conducted a brief hearing on the suit Friday and will hear the case again Monday.

``Everything`s under control, and we`ll be in good condition when we go into court,`` Skoien said.

Most of the weekend work was aimed at erecting a three-story fire wall to separate a CTA facility, which is under construction, from occupied portions of the center, Skoien said.

Skoien charged that the CTA, not the state, should have installed the fire wall, which will be on the Lake Street side of the building near Clark Street, where the CTA is building rapid transit passenger terminals.

``I still believe that,`` Skoien said Sunday as he supervised work at the site. ``And as far as I am concerned, after costs are figured out, the state will probably present the CTA with a bill to cover the costs of this additional construction.``

Baxa, however, said: ``That`s not our project whatsoever. It`s either the city`s or the state`s. It`s someone`s responsibility, but I`m sure it`s not the CTA`s.``

The city`s lawsuit charges that sprinkler and fire-detection systems are inadequate to protect the 1,500 state employees, including Gov. James Thompson, who already are working in the building. It also charges that there are no fire walls to isolate construction areas from public areas.

The situation constitutes ``an immediate threat to the life and safety of the occupants,`` the suit says.

Skoien said the suit ``absolutely took me by surprise`` and was unnecessary because his staff had agreed to correct violations after they were pointed out by city inspectors early Friday. He said inspectors were asked to return to the site for another check Tuesday.

In addition to the fire wall around the CTA facility, another large fire wall was being built on the concourse level under the Randolph Street entrance to separate work in progress on an artificial waterfall from the main part of the lobby, Skoien said.

The temporary fire walls are made of inch-thick drywall and steel studs and can contain a fire for about an hour, Skoien said.

Skoien also argued that the sprinkler system always has been fully operational but that several valves ``had been turned off to facilitate construction and had not yet been turned on. . . . The business of turning on various individual valves does not require much effort at all.``

When the building is completed in late April or early May and occupied by 3,000 state employees, it will be equipped with an automated fire alarm system, Skoien said. In the interim, he said, the building is under a 24-hour watch.

Skoien said that if the city comes up with any additional complaints, ``I would be forced to conclude that they are using much more stringent standards for state construction than they would have for city construction. I believe that there is a legitimate jurisdictional dispute over the building, and I further believe that the state has ultimate jurisdiction regarding the construction.``